Deck of the Day

[DRK3]

Here it is.
Sorry it took so long to share it (i did it on day 2 of the patch, but took a long time to optimize it, i will explain why).

[DECK OF 16-09-22]
[LOCATION SOLDIERS]

NILFGAARD SOLDIER - SPECIAL SERIES #5

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DECK ITERATIONS
I knew right from the start what i wanted in the deck - a lot of locations. Angouleme was a must, to take advantage of the popularity of NG and its reworked locations. So, the top 5 golds are the same from the start, its the bronze package that was clunky and required finetuning.

The original version relied on nauzicaa sergeants... they are obviously very strong, the problem was the deck had so many cards that were better later (illusionists, mushy truffle, dwims, nauzicaas), that its R1 was ridiculously weak and almost a certain loss, or a waste of value.

The deck was also built to consider the possibility of facing - and getting a scenario through Angouleme - and had many more cards to trigger it (experimental remedies, diplomacies), the problem is these new scenarios arent as easy to get value as the old ones (especially the ST and MO one).

What i did was replace the nauzicaa sergeants and "copy cards" for the spotters + slave drivers + NG knights combo.
This way, the deck has a much stronger R1, and then it can bleed R2 while leaving the carryover from locations to win a short R2 even if you lose card advantage. Overall, it became better in general but slightly worse against scenario decks.

(EDIT) NG has access to one more location, the witcher one, but i opted not to use it as none of the 4 witcher options or its order had any synergy with the rest of the deck. Armory is unusual in NG decks, but the armor order is good in case any spotters has its armor removed.

SPOTTERS VS NAUZICAA SERGEANTS
Im sure you've seen complaints about how OP Sergeants are now, but probably none against spotters.
The truth is they're quite similar, so it makes sense to compare them:

-They are both 5p reworked soldiers, with a 4pt body, and a pointslam boost (and a green background )
They both work really well with slave drivers too.

-Nauzicaa sergeant are definitely easier to use, as they have no deckbuilding condition, are instant value (deploy), you dont even need to put the boosts in the sergeant, you can put it in a smaller soldier to avoid going tall. Also, a major advantage is the assimilate value from the spawned battle prep. Their downside is they cant be used R1, or R2 on a push.

-Spotters have a deckbuilding condition. They are definitely built to be used with NG knights. If you play them properly, they are worth even more than N.sergeants, as they are 12 for 5! The negative side is they're not deploy, their value comes from their order. However, they usually get enough armor from their deploy that they are outside of removal range, but suffer against cheap locks, unlike N.sergeants.
The final advantage they have is they can be used any round safely, although if the deck has many low powered units, the order may miss the NG knight option especially early in the match.

FInal Verdict: they are very similar in power level, both probably in the top 5 of best bronzes currently in the game, but i think nauzicaa sergeants are still slightly better, although i prefer the spotters.

META EFFECT
This deck's strength is very dependent on your opponent's deck, mainly because of Angouleme (very binary, amazing or a "3 for 10") and Illusionists (in some matches they only get small pointslam value).

What i fear is that i took so long to post it that now it wont be as effective, strong, and even FUN as it was for me when i first started using it.
This is because the reworked locations are probably a bit overcosted, and if players stop using them after the "new effect" wears out, the Angouleme is more likely to brick, and our chances drop considerably.
Still, i highly recommend trying it out, as its the deck that brought me the most fun by far this season.

And now... a LOT of epic screenshots.

Post automatically merged: Sep 16, 2022

These first batch is from the 1st iteration of the deck, that still used imposter leader instead of imprisonment, among the other differences i previously described.

If only i had a counter to that symbiosis spawner... Also, it may look like it went well for me, but it could have gone way better if i had more illusionists and they had better targets from the start.

Master of Puppets fun, all because my opponent chose it from runemage in R1...

I dont even have Ramon, AF light cavalries or alba spearmen in my deck! /but i did have those AF heavy cavalries before, for R1.

Post automatically merged: Sep 16, 2022

More NG Mirror fun!
I dont think this deck ever lost against other NG soldiers with locations.

Poor ST opponent was taught how to properly use elf sorceresses + mushy truffle...

Didnt expect the Cahirs, but it was a nice tactical round.

And at least one screenie showcasing the potential of spotters!
Honestly, a deck all around them is definitely viable, might consider one in the future.

 

[DRK3]

No new deck today, but i wanted to state a few things nonetheless.

I have covered all the reworked NG soldiers or golds by now, so the NG soldiers series is kinda over... although i still have one NG deck left to share, that used to be soldiers but now has 0 soldiers and only 1 reworked card that i still havent used in decks of the day (you may be able to figure it out )

The 4 reworked soldiers i didnt cover are:

-Tibor. Im sorry, i dislike him too much to try and think of a smart way to use him that isnt the same as way practitioner spam.

-Combat engineer and ducal guard. I didnt use these, but i mentioned i think they're pretty bad in the tactics deck and the flanking deck, respectively.

-Recruit. This soldier is crap. Either im missing something or this is simply a bronze soldier tutor with 0 added value since it goes back in deck. Honestly, this one was better before the rework.

Regarding other factions, other decks, i dont have much left to share, so im open to suggestions or challenges on decks to create of any faction, otherwise we will wait for next patch that might bring a card drop.

 

[quintivarium]

Recruit is a bit better than you indicate. It works very well with portal where it can guarantee a better card than portal draws. It can also be used to place two engines on the board in one turn — yes, this can be prevented by using removal on the recruit, but then the opponent has less removal for soldiers I want on the board. Finally, it is good for decks that want to play lots of cards to fill quests. Prior to useful bronze soldiers for such a deck, I struggled to find enough low provision cards that could play other cards. Now this type of deck is surprisingly competitive.

 

[DRK3]

Today is the last NG deck i share this season, i promise.

It CONCLUDES the NG soldiers series, because even though it doesnt include a SINGLE soldier, the original version of the deck did (but the spotters were transposed to the location deck) and it still includes a major NG reworked card: Albrich.
(in truth, this includes 11 mages, so its definitely more of a NG mage deck than soldiers )

[DECK OF 20-09-22]
[THE REVELATOR]

NILFGAARD SOLDIER MAGE - SPECIAL SERIES #BONUS

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

Join in The Witcher universe’s favorite card game! In GWENT, you clash with your friends in fast-paced duels that combine bluffing, on-the-fly decision making and careful deck construction.

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This is another of my decks that fall into the category: 'lot of fun, but a bit lacking in firepower', mostly because it doesnt take advantage of the ridiculous power of bronze soldiers, simply because there isnt space for them (we need the bronze slots for revealing units and specials/ artefacts to make playing 2 Golden Nekkers worth it).

COMPARISON WITH RENFRI-ALBRICH DECKS
There is a very similar popular deck, except its Renfri instead of Golden Nekker.
When i made the original deck, that other meta deck still hadnt popped off, so the creation of this deck was in no way influenced by others.

Unfortunately, i have to admit that the Renfri version is significantly better- if not for power, for its consistency and ease of use.
In around 90% of situations, that deck outpoints this one, those remaining 10% are the few cases where luck of the draws and perfect play lead us to fully execute our strategy (2 GNs played with no missed targets, Albrich boosted a lot, Yen Div and Xarthisius reveal it, plus its summoned/played).
If the Renfri deck is a 2/10 in difficulty, this one is a 9/10, one of the hardest decks to pilot that ive ever created and shared here. You have been warned...

DIFFICULTIES OF CREATING A GOLDEN NEKKER DECK
Creating GN decks isnt as easy as it may seem.
Any deck that has combos, engines or timing-dependent cards might be ruined by GN - if you want to play GN in R1 but it pulls a R3 card, or when it pulls a brick.
You need to include artefacts and specials so GN finds value (especially when you intend to play it twice or more).
Certain techs are very ill advised because they might backfire - for example, i like to use the obscure cards: Curse of Corruption, Glorious Hunt or Twisted Mirror, but pulling these by accident sucks.

That's why GN usually works better with pointslam, very consistent cards, which this deck is not.
Still, it has come a long way from its original version, where it was way worse and GN often ruined combos or found pitiful value.
That's why odd cards like runestone or scepter of storms are used, because they decent anytime, while an experimental remedy/ necromancy - which are usually considered better - is wasted if pulled R1 with empty graveyards.
My advice for this deck? Always put the unit you want on top before GN, because there are a lot of units you dont want pulled by it.

Scepter of storms is bad? How about when you're faced with certain immune kitties or dragons?

Im not even sure how i got that many relicts, but it was definitely fun.

An amazing match, one of the few where i got Albrich reveal value + play it (through Vilgefortz on self unit).
And my opponent was playing a location deck that was suspiciously close to the one i shared, except it didnt have Angouleme and had a few flanking soldiers i didnt use... very interesting.

 

[DRK3]

Today's deck is the last one of the season.
Unfortunately, its not a case of 'best for last', like i usually prefer it to be.

Its a deck i had for quite some time, built during the last time the 'banished' seasonal mode was active, which i think was last week of last season.
Yes, its weird to release a seasonal deck so far from the respective seasonal mode, i am doing it for several little reasons:
1. I did test it on standard modes, and with little modifications, it can be viable there.
2. I had never shared a deck for that particular seasonal mode, since i consider it one of the worst, dominated by a particular faction / deck. This was mostly built to counter it (and no changes were done to adapt it to standard modes).
3. I am absolutely tired of this season's meta and definitely dont want to play any further, but still wanted to share one last deck that is not NG.
If not for the new seasonal coming in a couple of days , i wouldnt touch Gwent until next card drop.

[DECK OF 25-09-22]
[BANISHED WARRIORS]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

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This is basically an 'old deck', where tutoring and thinning werent as present in Gwent, and you had to rely on luck to get your best cards.

Does it hold up against any current meta decks? Probably not. But i guarantee it will crush any engine deck (including practitioner spam), since it even has tools to eliminate immune units or multiple units in 1 turn (delirium, rain cataclysm, leader).
Its not a "nice deck", its a mean deck, which is more fitting for the current Gwent "landscape"

This is the goal of the deck - an empty side on the opponents board, while we still have a few points from our damaging units.

See you next card drop, hopefully NG and ST will get crap because i cant stand seeing them anymore...

 

[DRK3]

Lets kick off this new season in a very cool way

It is MO, and as you may guess, it is Wild Hunt.
I checked my index for the MO decks shared in this thread, and although there's quite a few, its heavily skewed towards my preference: deathwish and consume decks, even when this archetype is considered bad. So its important to diversify and try other MOs archetypes.

But dont worry, this is NOT your typical WH devotion deck...
This time, im trying a different approach, and the obvious deck choices that are so easy to make when a card drop comes? I am skipping them altogether, especially when we also have the trial by fire seasonal mode that presents us with these decks. I dont think it would be very useful to share decks that are 80-90% the same as those prebuilt decks.

This is also NOT the "tier 0 Frost deck" that i was made aware of today, in fact this one may actually stand a chance against that (by accident), because of (optional) artefact removal to deal with that deck's key piece..

[DECK OF 05-10-22]
[FROSTY SHUPE]

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WHY SHUPE IN WILD HUNT?
Well, i was trying to maximize Tir na Lia's deploy effect, and so i had to use at least 1 of every WH bronze... What other card requires only 1 bronze of each? Shupe/Radeyah. And what beautiful cards have received a buff this patch? Shupe/Radeyah!
Then i noticed i couldnt use 2 of those bronzes in a Shupe list, but 9/11 for Tir na Lia still seems worth it.

WH CARDS CUT OUT
As you may have noticed, Auberon and Geels are absent from this deck.
They were both included in the original version, but i didnt even know Ge'els tutoring was linked to devotion and it cost me a game, and i ditched him afterwards.
Auberon was more of a considered decision. But at 12p its very costly, and without devotion, you lose the veil, the guarantee to get the bronze WH unit you need and its engine ability, so i thought he isnt worth it without devotion and replaced him with Eredin, which is cheaper and even when countered, gets similar value to non devotion Auberon.

NEW WH CARDS REVIEW
By now i already played a lot with these new cards - on standard with this deck, and on seasonal with the prebuilt deck.
I am not sold on the bronzes, but the golds are quite good.
The AE aristocrat, im not sure how to get good value from it, if i want movement i use bruiser. I guess it can be a good proactive play against NR and their new melee-locked toys.
The AE slave trader isnt bad in generating points, but its terrible in locking anything, even if you boost it above target on the turn he's played, still gives a chance to opponent to use order or counter it before the lock actually happens.
The Caranthir GC is a good design, cheap for how much value it can give, but requires timing and vulnerable to tall punishment.
The location, Tir na Lia, seems a bit expensive at 12, but its order ability and carryover gives it a lot of value, so a worthy inclusion.

Already managed to get the max value of Caranthir GC (without Eredin), on a mirror match where i managed frost, movement and placement better than my opponent.
(this was still the Auberon version instead of the Eredin version)

 

[DRK3]

Today its NR's turn.
Usually when i try to make a different variation of a new meta archetype, the results can be a bit clunky or harder to pilot... not today, i can assure you today's deck is even better than the NR deck going around there, it got me undefeated from rank 4 to 2 and made a lot of opponents forfeit early in a long round 2 or 3.

[DECK OF 07-10-22]
[REAVERS REBORN]

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HISTORY LESSON
You may wonder why i called the deck 'Reavers Reborn'... Unless you've been playing Gwent for a really long time like me, you're likely to think these Crinfid reavers (hunters and scouts) are totally new cards, but they're actually right from the start of the closed beta, i was playing these bad boys precisely 6 years ago in October 2016 and they made up some of my favourite decks, at the time NR was even my 2nd favourite faction. The ability of the reaver scouts was very similar, while the ability of the reaver hunters used to be what now belongs to cintrian royal guards.

NO NEW NR GOLDS
In NR, the opposite of MO happened - the new bronzes are great while the new golds are a bit lackluster.
Kenneth and Gar are anti synergistic with reaver hunters, because you want to set them up very early in a round to get round control, no time to set up Kenneth and Gar too. And Boholt isnt as bad, but has a few minor weaknesses: you need to play him in melee to get his order on the same turn as he's played to avoid getting countered, but that steals away a spot for an extra reaver hunter. In fact, i avoided altogether melee locked or formation units to have all the space in melee for hunters (or Idarran/Shani, which are also used for more hunters). Other Boholt weaknesses are that he goes tall, in a Yrden/ tall punishment meta, and is expensive, while there are many other cheaper ways to spawn more Hunters.

Check out Fuchsia Brief's video on Reavers - its very similar to what my deck would be, and even though he used these new golds, he admits they feel a bit extra.

RENFRI
Yes, i know, making a Renfri deck combined with a strong new bronze package is kinda 'ez mode', but her selection was not for raw, braindumb power, but to allow many engines to be setup in a turn, which is so effective (and feels a bit like cheating ).
This keeps me from using specials and artefacts - otherwise i would have included Garrison and Mushy Truffle for more reaver hunters. But Shani and Queen Adalia do a great job at this, and especially Idarran, the MVP(well, after the reavers themselves).

ITERATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS
This is not the 1st version of the deck. The original was very similar, but tried a meme strategy: Pavetta (to relocate the reaver hunters from GY to to deck) and Erland, but it was not generating enough value to be worth it, after i switched them for Caretaker (to purify all our locked reavers) and Idarran, the deck became nearly unbeatable.

The 2 strongest considerations should be defender, to protect reaver hunters (in which case you probably wouldnt need caretaker) and Yrden (instead of Igni). I still prefer my version, as Igni in this list is very elegant, its not a 'pray and shoot' type Igni, but a ton of perfect synergies to line up Ignis, with Reaver Hunters, siege engines, city guards and war chariot.
PS - its also a ton of fun to burn those 27pt Soves, ive lost track how many ive Ignied by now.

MATCHUPS
I have faced the new NG boost several times with this. Never lost. Our damaging engine power + Igni is enough to keep them in check.
I have faced mirror matches a few times. Never lost. Because Renfri gives us a small boost over those.
Even in a match where both my reaver hunters were at the bottom of the deck and never found him, still won because i used my leader on the 2 kerack citiy guards and put his 2 reaver hunters on the ranged row, used war chariot and margarita to deal with the others.
But in NR mirrors, the old adage still stands: he who "fires" first wins, so be careful if giving up R1 early, as a 8/9 card round 2 might be deadly.

Not even ST Guerrilla tactics with their 3 leader charges stood a chance (and look how little i committed in this R1)

One of the few matches i lost... because the opponent was clearly targeting this matchup, still had one slot in his side after this turn (otherwise i could have committed everything and won because he had no more space and no tall units to punish in case his last card was a special).
And because my last mulligan on R3... was the other Renfri's gang

This was a very intense mirror match, and the opponent that had the closest deck to mine (even used war chariot too, for mirrors!)
But he thought he could 2-0 me, but didnt have Renfri (which is how i got a defender too) so i won.

 

[DRK3]

Salutations. Today's featured deck is for SK.
I bring the infamous Sove, but i promise its a list you've never seen anything like it.

[DECK OF 09-10-22]
[SOVE TROLL]

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DECKBUILDING DECISIONS
Even though the deck's name mentions Sove, he is definitely not the only star of the deck, but he gets the honour since he's the new card.

I knew right from the start i wanted Ihuarraquax to pull Sove. This is the troll play that was the foundation for the deck. But this also brings a lot of setbacks: in deckbuilding, i cant use any units above Sove's 11, and to be safe, other top-provision units also need NOT to be deploy - which kept me from using Igni/Yrden, which are gamechangers in this meta.

Also, the Ihuarraquax on R1 wasnt successful in ruining the opponent's top golds as i had hoped for: pulled a few Soves, Boholts, one Idarran, one Eredin - which are not deploy and the opponent doesnt mind getting them out on R1. I pulled a couple of Yrdens, which should be huge but it was not enough... (more on that later)

I also like to include a backup target for Ihuarraquax in case Sove is in hand or already played. I had 3 possibilities, all at 10 provisions: Olaf (the bear), Draco Turtle, and Melusine. My original version had Dracoturtle, to counter the NR Reavers matchup, but it was awful against NG as it simply got locked and it was a 5 for 10 if nothing was combo'ed with it. Hence why i replaced it with Melusine - even though im not a big fan of hers, she provides many different values.

I only used 1 each of the new bronzes, and no Ulula. This is not because they're bad, but because they dont fit the deck.
I HAVE used them in other decks and they're absolutely amazing IMO, but sharing those decks isnt relevant as they're very similar to the seasonal's SK decklist.

DIFFERENT MATCHUPS
This deck took a lot of consideration in what the current meta is, or will become.
Due to Sove, i cant really use CoC, Glorious Hunt or Scorch, so i had to rely on weird picks like twisted mirror and artefact compression (its ok, all tall units in this meta are boosted anyway, and not base power).

I knew i wanted self damage to counter NR's reaver hunter spam. Tuirseach veterans are really good everytime, but against NR the're amazing. Also it was for this matchup that i am using Reckless Flurry instead of the "self damage leader"; Ursine Ritual. Thanks to svalblod totem's rework, i dont need that leader.
Overal, it was a success and this deck has a good matchup vs NR.

Against MO frost, another reason why veterans and self damage is great, and a giant sove can keep their dominance away, and if they are devotion, they wont punish it with Igni/ Yrden.

Against SK, in "pseudo mirrors", it also does great. we both have Sove, a lot of damage to get BT, but their damage suffers a lot against my units that WANT to get damaged.

Its NG that is the problem. Even with 2 tall punishments picked specifically for that matchup, its still not enough to deal with all their super boosted units, and they rub their hands when they see Sove (Beauclair's deploy and Rainfarn). Its on that matchup that i really wish i had Yrden instead of trolling R1 with Ihuarraquax.

Finally, ive also noticed a lot of players packing squirrels specifically for Sove matchups, i didnt expect Sove + sigdrifa's rite to be so popular.
But ive also won precisely because of that - i pushed R2 immediately starting with reviving sove, they have squirrel in hand because they wanted to banish it if i drypassed, but that makes their R2 hand a lot weaker and im able to snag the 2-0.

Using Dire Bear isnt useful only in NG matchups. Against enemy soves, it keeps them from those 16pt boosts. But remember you can put him on either side, depending on which side you think its safer. (on the opponent's side it will stop our own sove from boosting, but you have last say, its safe, only risk is purification)

This is a match where i had the perfect hand R3, and a poor opponent who had no control, which allowed me to pull the totem - veteran - knut combo beautifully for 4dmg a turn, and the direbear on front row got (or denied!) a lot of value.

 

[DRK3]

Today we take a trip to Toussaint.
The deck practically builts itself, if you paid attention to which were the NG reworked cards, all to support this "new" archetype.
Still, i wanted to do a different take and not the same list as everyone.

I am no master of this type of play. Going extremely tall is definitely not my style. But i understand why it works so well - other than Yrden, opponents cant possibly have tall punishment for so many super tall units, and the point output is so much greater than other deck's.
I tried going slightly more wide than tall, but it wasnt particularly successful - not because it was bad, since i had no trouble winning with this, but the cards that i included for the differentiation factor were not the ones responsible for the success.

[DECK OF 12-10-22]
[GREEN KNIGHTS]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

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Cahir, the centerpiece of this archetype, didnt have support for years. It was a binary card, depending on matchup, on whether your opponent boosted a lot or not. OR... you relied on Cahir + Yen boost + Yrden, which was one of my favourite meme decks for years.

I cut Ivar and Beauclair. Simply because i wanted to focused on my swarm strategy. But NG still isnt a good faction to swarm, probably still the worst, although much better than before.
Also, i rather have Rainfarn than Beauclair, as mostly a counter to Sove decks (Yrden one round, Rainfarn the other, with last say, no need for Squirrel).

Overall, all of this archetype golds are performing admirably (probably TOO well) - Rainfarn, Guillaume, MIlton + Palmerin, False Ciri.
And yes, there's more Yrdens in the meta than ever, but i am surprised by how few i've encountered so far, maybe i was lucky. Also, this deck is strong enough to force an Yrden out in R2 on a push or they lose.

Opponent didnt know Guillaume could steal defender status and thought his Kelly was safe and didnt need veil...
Also this is one of those matchups where you wont get good targets for illusionists, so putting a knight challenger in their graveyard is extra important.

Sometimes you have more juicy targets for illusionists... i cant say no to NG witch apprentice's spam.
Rainfarn has its pros and cons: it can bypass defenders and immunity, but it can brick if an opponent's row is full, so sometimes i play him a bit early, exposing myself to tall punishments, because otherwise he wont have space in the row i want.

This player played very defensively, avoiding to play reaver hunters for as long has he could... i had to push him really strongly in R2 to force his hunters out so i could crush him with illusionists + reaver hunters on R2 (and he was teching surrender for mirrors, but was forced to use it R2).

 

[DRK3]

Salutations.
Haven't been playing much Gwent lately, and that is unlikely to change soon, so there will be few new decks on this thread.

This particular deck is for SY, i waited until all the bugs were fixed to start trying out their new cards. And this deck has been prepared and tested since around a week, but i reckon its unlikely the meta changed much since then.

[DECK OF 19-10-22]
[NINE 9S]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

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This deck has 9 cards of 9 provisions, hence its name. Its not polarized at all, but it still packs a punch.
I made a Shupe deck, a Renfri deck, and so i also wanted a Golden Nekker deck for this season, and i went with SY as it was already the go-to choice for Golden Nekkers.
Then i noticed most SY new decks being used are non GN, in order to use the new Sigi Reuven, so i was glad to offer something different.

I wanted to avoid two staples of meta SY - poison and tunnel drill. The new SIgi Reuven is basically being used to play drill and a crime in the same turn, which was already possible with GN, and Collusion is not even in those decks, which is downright tragic.
This made selecting the artefacts for this deck way trickier. I had Salamander hideout initially, but i was not getting value out of its order, so i replaced with candle, which i hate and still believe its OP but there are too few alternatives for GN decks.
(i also replaced vial of forbidden knowledge for mysterious puzzle box)

THE DECK IS QUITE HARD TO PILOT.
Mostly because of GN, which can be awful depending on RNG, but i felt i needed to include several techs for the current meta to remain minimally competitive. But when it works, its quite a sight to behold, really taking advantage of the point ceiling of these new bronzes.

Its possible to win against the SY metadeck, but if it was not for the 8pt Nova carryover, i wouldnt have won.

You play Olgierd Immortal against Reavers and if they dont have lock or heatwave, they lose that round, guaranteed.
Thats why its important to select the right round to play him. Ive also considered purification or defender to protect olgierd, but it would be focusing too much on a single matchup (remember savolla's frightener also has 6 armor, to counter reavers or frost).

Was almost 2-0ed here, but seizing important engines (like cat witcher here) with just a bronze special is amazing, that's why Bloody good friends is great, together with GN its often possible to get 4-5 gangs on the board in 2 turns!
(remember shady vendor into eventide plunder can also put 2 different gangs on the board)

 

[DRK3]

Last deck of the season. Possibly the last until the next card drop, in December.
This one is for Scoiatael, the only faction i hadnt covered yet.

[DECK OF 27-10-22]
[CONSTANT MOVEMENT]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

Join in The Witcher universe’s favorite card game! In GWENT, you clash with your friends in fast-paced duels that combine bluffing, on-the-fly decision making and careful deck construction.

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ARCHETYPE CHOICE

I have a complicated relationship with ST, which makes building decks for it kinda hard.
I carry a "passionate distaste" for many of its archetypes and strong golds that carry the faction. When i saw and tried the new cards, supporting Symbiosis, i didnt become a fan. Most of all, because cards pushing into devotion limit creativity and wacky meme possibilities, at least until there is way more devotion cards.
Still, there was 1 of the 4 new cards i could work with it for something else... Frog mating season.

ADAPTING TO THE META

The deck is very clunky, i admit. I dont have much choice - most times i an forced to either choose to create something very original and that other creators and players havent tried... but it ends up being very weak and loses everytime, and i dont want to share decks here with less than 20% winrate. Or, i create something strong, but it ends up being way closer to what you find in the meta.

For this season, i built strong decks for NG and NR, which ended up being similar to what's dominant in the meta. But for SY and now for ST, i was forced to pack a ton of techs and control, which detract from the deck's main focus (movement), so it can compete in the least against metadecks.

MATCHUP VS REAVERS

I have faced this freakin deck so many times. And its easy to see most of the deck is built to counter it, as the biggest threat. But even a movement deck, which in theory would destroy a row-locked deck, struggles a lot, winning way less than half of those matches.

Sadly i have come to the conclusion - movement is not ideal to counter reavers. And its not even because they are now packing counters to the counters (purifies for locks and that NR bronze that moves allies).
Because reavers are so strong, its ALL they use the entire match. And even if you pack enough movement, the row restriction to 9 makes it so you cant move them back after the ranged row is full, so any round above 5/6 turns is going to turn badly.
Not to mention the extra value from garrison's order and voymir, so that even if their damage is countered, they still get decent value.

Anyway, this is becoming a rant against Reavers, i just want to inform you its still very hard to beat them with this deck. On the other hand, there are matchups i didnt even consider, that end up being extremely favourable for this deck (almost impossible to lose to Kelly with this deck )

This was one of the matches i was able to win against Reavers, whether it was because it was an hybrid (reavers + grace knights) or because since i lost R1 on even, each of the 3 rounds wasnt long enough for reavers to pop off after ranged row is full (because i push them everytime)

So many units i cant even do all the movement i wanted due to lack of space... But this is usually a good problem to have, more would be overkill.
Also pray for no Yrdens, which annihilate our rowstacks and boosts, luckily i havent found any with this deck.

 

[DRK3]

Deck of the Day will return soon, with the new card drop...

But its likely the last time, as i dont plan to keep playing in 2023.
Then again, i also intended to stop at the end of 2021, but ended up coming back - in short bursts - for card drops throughout this year, so that is a possibility, but i wouldnt count on it.

See you soon

 

[DRK3]

Hello everyone.
I start this new season a bit later than i would have wanted, but i can assure i already have quite a few decks in the works for this month, although they wont come daily like they used to.

[DECK OF 10-12-22]
[RELICT ADDICT]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

Join in The Witcher universe’s favorite card game! In GWENT, you clash with your friends in fast-paced duels that combine bluffing, on-the-fly decision making and careful deck construction.

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Its a relicts deck... but its not MO relicts, oh no, that is so 2021... This is ST Relicts!
It includes both of ST new cards, as they obviously work well together.
But its an hybrid - one half is exactly what you'd expect from ST harmony, while the other is relicts, bringing the spicy memes!

DECKBUILDING PROCESS
My first plan was to go to the deckbuilder, ST, filter relicts and include as many as possible.
Then i looked at the deck, and it was a complete mess. Unicorn/ Chironex are just weak, so they were removed.
There were a LOT of anti-synergies, the devs were quite malevolent (or clueless) by including relict support in the harmony archetype, which works best with devotion (because neutral cards dont trigger harmony).

I wanted to include the reworked All-God and Offerings, but it didnt fit the deck at all, so the solution was simple: remove him (and make a whole deck about him in the future, possibly also ST )
I wanted to include something like an oneiromancy, since the deck is so polarized and has 3 extremely expensive cards, but i included some very expensive relicts so i had no room for it, and had to rely on budget consistency options (Maxii) and luck to get what i need.

CARD REASONINGS
Ihuarraquax is one of my favourites, and Dana on her 1st version is a good pull for R1, yes, shes very expensive at 14 for 7, but she usually gets 7-9 handboosts immediately, and if she isnt countered, the opponent is giving you huge carryover for later rounds.

Johnny and Sarah are usually low tempo cards and vulnerable, but since im already using defender to protect Quarixis, it can protect those two godlings too, and they are only played R3 when tempo isnt as important, AND they are arent low tempo anyway when they actually trigger a special if Quarixis is on board, which often ends up creating new harmony triggers!

I really hate poison, but i felt like i needed it because they're mostly harmony units and they are cheap tall removal in a deck where i cant afford expensive tall removal.

Im not in touch with the high tier metas, but the deck has performed quite well so far, and its quite fun to play.
I think its success is due to the underestimating the value of Quarixis, ive had a lot of opponents who had control, but targetted other engines instead. Because this deck's R3 strategy relies on putting many engines on same turn, which leads to confusion of opponents.

Not even NG poison ball has enough poisons for all my tall units.

He had Helge and Skellen 4x2damage each, and still lost because he wasnt able to destroy Quarixis early enough (i had a boosted defender), by the time it died it already provided too much value.

You may wonder how this deck performs against standard harmony, with new cards... i did too, until this match.
It was a perfect mirror, we both had scenario, dana and quarixis for R3, no poisons (used on early rounds), but i got WAY more value from quarixis, and even though playing neutral relicts doesnt trigger harmony, the special it spawns often creates a unit that does!

 

[DRK3]

Dagon is back in Gwent! It "only" took 4 years of requests and memes for this to happen

Truth be told, i was never a big fan of his (it?). But now that he is a part of the Deathwish archetype? Oh yeah!

I have taken a look at some other decks in the deck database, and they are similar too mine, because these are the logical options.
What i can promise is a more detailed text guide, from a player with considerable more experience in DW than the other content creators.

[DECK OF 12-12-22]
[RETURN OF THE LORD OF THE DEEP]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

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Why do most Dagons look like this? I will try to go card by card:

-Haunt is included, because you need many, many consumes (Haunt provides up to 3, plus tempo) in Succubus decks.
-Dagon is the new star, the deck was built around it. I am satisfied with the result, as the 2 forms are very different but the deck fits both well.
-Brewess Ritual is a staple in DW decks to provide a R1 win-con and thinning, but she is the key to support Dagon 1st form.
-Arachas Queen is also the Meme Queen, often leading to problematic meme decks. Here, she is support to either Dagon or Succubus.
-Naglfar is our only tutor. I think its enough, i have rarely missed a top gold in several games.

-Cave Troll (defender) is the only big replacement i did in the deck (previously, it was toad prince). I felt i needed to protect scenario and Dagon 2nd form more than the small control provided by toad prince.
-The other replacements were including a pellar, mostly to purify locked units, and slyzard instead of 2 giant toads, because its technically the unit with most consumes and it can be protected by defender.
-Abaya makes sense in any AQueen deck, even when used in a bronze DW unit she is decent.
-Kayran is great to consume many succubus, but also to protect really tall units you expect to be destroyed (beware of Igni and CoC though)

-I am using 8 bronze DW units. I think this is the ideal number, in case you get 3 triggers from brewess ritual, and you can still have 2 of them in hand. Although its debatable if you include less, its more likely the ones summoned by brewess ritual are the sames infused by Dagon 1st form.
-2 of them are succubus (and i include Dol Dhu Lokke in and Succ deck). And 2 sirens are definitely a must, to provide extra consumes.
-Rotfiend and Foglet can kill pesky units like immune Saskia commanders or units behind defenders.
-Harpy eggs are my babies, had to include them (they're usually the unit summoned from GY by Dagon 2nd form). Endrega warriors are the cheapest double consume, but you need to beware of placement because of this.

REVIEW AND HINTS
Even though Deathwish has a lot of pointslam, unfortunately it falls a bit short compared to other scenario pointslams like ST Harmony and NR Knights. I tested this in long R3s where we both had scenarios and none was heatwaved, and no tall punishment was done.

But these results were mostly without "Dagon 2nd form swarm", with AQ and Abaya. Which is hard to pull off but may be strong enough to turn the tides (pun intended )

I didnt post this deck earlier because i wanted to achieve success with both Dagon strategies, but now that i know Dagon 2nd form actually provides CA, im definitely leaning more towards Dagon: Risen.

But it must be said Dagon 1st form has even more untapped potential, if you manage to do the whole cycle of worshipping twice, but you probably need deck adjustments (like Decoy) to be able to pull that off.

PS - BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERSWARM. On long R3s, i usually had lack of space, so it was often better not to use AQ's special, not trigger the 2 arachas drones from location, not consume the wraith that gives 2 extra rats or click the endrega warrior's order until the very end, where you know you wont need more space.

This is one of many losses i had against ST Harmony. My scenario was HW'ed, his wasnt, i lost, but it was quite close.
Ive also had matches where my scenario stayed but i still lost by a lot, even though i had great hands and no poisons were completed.

Yes, another loss... And in this one i had the Dagon 1st form carryover, i got 3 Succubus but it was still not enough against a 30+pt Saint Gregory.

This is the bonkers match... On 2nd round, i knew he still had everything (Saskia, Scenario), so i thought i was going to lose a long R3, but still wanted to test Dagon 2nd form in a long round... This screen is moments before Lord Dagon turns the tides of the match...

Yes, im winning by almost 40pts. Yes im winning with 3 CA, still plenty of consumes and DW units on board!
I had over 30 pts of damage done by 3 storms. You basically can get 6 Dagons and 6 CA (maybe more?) if you time it correctly, by letting each Dagon on board reach the 5th counter before its consumed. Its crazy!

 

[DRK3]

New day, new deck.
Today is Syndicate, and it will obviously be a Firesworn deck, to showcase the new 14p card.
(Note: it will likely be the only SY deck i post this season, as im not interested in the other new SY card)

As you know, i dont like to make obvious decks, so this is definitely not similar to the other firesworn decks out there... this time, i bring Shupe! (and it wont be the last time you see Shupe in one of my decks this season... )

[DECK OF 16-12-22]
[SHUPESWORN]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

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CONCEPT THOUGHT-PROCESS
I checked the index to see what i had shared here for SY in the past, and more specifically, within the firesworn archetype.
I considered Renfri, but she does not fit Firesworn at all, as you cant use Dies Irae, Sacred Flame, Damnation, and many other SY or neutral specials. Golden Nekker is also a definitive no, as you're barred from using Hemmelfart or St Gregory (unless obtained from Damnation).

I am against going devotion Firesworn. There isnt really a payoff for devotion in the archetype, the 3rd form of Jacques is pratically the same as the 2nd, Whoreson Jr is great but St Gregory (2nd form) can execute a similar role, and mutant maker is good but not essential at all.
And by not being restrained by devotion, you can pack all the control you want, as long as you feel like you still swarm reliably well.

In the end, Shupe Firesworn seemed interesting and never attempted, and it proved to be successful, albeit a tad bit difficult to pilot.

SWARM PAYOFFS ANALYSIS
Swarm payoffs typically have amazing point-provision ratios if you reach their full potential.
-Bone talisman's ceiling is still 18pts. Although with sacred flame, taking up a spot, its 17pts.
-Sacred flame is 21pts (4 + 17 order), although its very unlikely all your untis would be firesworn.
-Dies Irae is also 21pt (3 + 18), 20 with sacred flame on board. But i would say its more reliable than sacred flame.
-St Gregory can be a whopping 45pts! (8 from deploy damage, 2 from insanity damage if you dont waste coins on him, 0 body since he kills himself on berserk, 18 damage if enemy has a full board without armor or shields, 17 swarm boost if all our units are firesworn), although is average is more around 30pts on a long round, as long as the opponent doesnt wipe our board.

CONSIDERATIONS
The amount of swarm payoffs i included may be a bit too much, if you lean more towards midrange gameplay, you can replace the bone talisman and the sacred flame artefact (7+8p) for any combination of 2 cards, like a Muzzle/ Heatwave and another 5p bronze.

This is one of the few instances where i was forced to play St Gregory on R1, which is still worth a crazy amount of points (and coins).
Unfortunately i was facing that very unfair deck, that cheats its way out to get cultist scenario to chapter 1 on the same turn its played by using leader and summoning Affan, so Shupe didnt get a chance to destroy a scenario.

 

[DRK3]

MID SEASON UPDATE:

I am taking a bit longer than i wished to post decks, but i will share the reasoning behind the delays, and what else is planned.

- I like to feature the new cards in my decks, but there's quite a few of this 'sacred and profane' card drop that i find too weak or uninteresting and wont be covering: lilith's omen, the SY artefact, the NG artefact, and im still on the fence on Melitele.

- I like to space out my decks, so im delaying decks that are ready just not to repeat the same faction in quick succession: for example, i did a ST deck shortly after the one i previously shared, and its already finetuned. Or i did another Shupe deck, but my last one was shupe too, so im postponing this one for later this season, sorry.

- The one that is giving me the most trouble is Tyr's, for my favourite faction - so it needs to be perfect (and very original).
And i am saving the Svalblod one for last, as its my favourite archetype, but i havent even touched it, and i see already some amazing creations by players and creators.

- NR is the faction i havent even started planning what to do with it, but i will definitely cover at least one deck for it.

(Overall, you can expect 5 more decks this month, the 2 i got ready, the one im currently working on, plus the NR and svalblod one)

 

[DRK3]

Today i bring Tyr to the table.
I know this is one of the most popular new cards, but i noticed he was only being used in Warriors.
So i had to do something different...

[DECK OF 19-12-22]
[HYPER-TYR]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

Join in The Witcher universe’s favorite card game! In GWENT, you clash with your friends in fast-paced duels that combine bluffing, on-the-fly decision making and careful deck construction.

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I find Tyr an interesting card. The 2nd form, the 1st is good but quite boring, as any resilience unit.
And unlike popular belief, Tyr is NOT support to the warriors archetype. Yes, he is a warrior, so it can be tutored with blood eagle. And synergizes well with the whole Eist BoG combo. BUT, he is quite versatile, and definitely works in other decks, particularly in discard decks and revive decks... and this deck is both.

DECK ITERATIONS
This deck took a lot of work, thinking and testing, and what you get is the final version, that got the best results and its easiest to pilot.

For curiosity, the 1st version had Melusine, as Heatwave bait, and sigdrifa's rite to revive it. And Geralt, for tall punishment.
The main issue was not thinning enough, as i wasnt getting the deck to below 3 cards by R3, for GCompass.

I replaced those 3 with Heatwave, Morkvarg HoT and Knickers. Knickers improved thinning significantly, and now the deck size gets to below 3 by R3 consistently. And Heatwave is essential because 2022 scenarios are too point-heavy to the point no amount of control can deal with it.
Morkvarg HoT is debatable whether its better or worse than Geralt, but having access to playing it a 2nd time through GCompass Fucusya seals the deal for me.

ADAPTING TO THE META
I havent played ranked in a couple of months. And i know most meta report sites shut down, so im not sure there is a well-defined meta like there used to be before (which is a good thing). But judging by the decks i found most times, i tried to adapt the deck to counter them, packed more control, and the winrate got up.

Two decks in particular were targeted: ST Harmony and NG Enslave.
I say Harmony, but pretty much every ST deck nowadays uses Saskia Commander for R1 control. Delirium is a very good counter, its not guaranteed to kill her, but a leader charge can be committed to increase those odds. And Coral + discards can do this task too.
I've had many early forfeits thanks to these moves.

NG Enslave got a resurgence in popularity due to the Damien + Torres combo. I can already assure this is not what i wlll be using in my Torres deck in the future. And this deck annihilates that strategy, card for card, unless you miss the cards needed by R2/3.
Warning: Dont play SK defender on later rounds though, or its likely going to get enslaved and ruin our sequencing.
(Generally, this is what happens: they play Helge, i kill it with decoction or delirium or lock it if its boosted by war council, they play assimilate units, i kill them again, they play Damien, i kill it with bride of the sea into decoction, then their Torres has no good targets. If they had defender, i purified or Heatwaved it, and any assimilate target that survived and got boosted, gets Morkvarg HoT. Win)

WHAT WAS NOT USED
I considered Renfri. But it was incompatible with Golden Compass and the alchemy damage specials i wanted to use.
I considered Lippy, whether in deck or through GCompass. But there was no good way to get to reuse Tyr in the 2nd form, and in the 1st form i wasnt interested. And getting Tyr through GCompass will only get the 1st form (i assume), so it's also a no.

Leader selection-wise, i considered going with trusty reckless flurry, which works similarly to what delirium and rage of the sea charges gets here, but i chose to use a less popular leader for a change, which also leads to surprise value (opponents expect rain, but there's very little rain here)

Yes, this can beat harmony in a long R3, since we have enough control.

Won this game due to a perfectly timed defender, which ruined their ivar evil eye, and also ruined their reset (by that time, he had wasted his ways to deal with defenders). ANd got great value from Tyr, getting 2 16pt Bear witchers.

 

[DRK3]

After last time i did a ST deck, focused on relicts, i felt bad for not managing to include AllGod and Offerings, but i immediately knew that i would do a different ST deck with those cards. Today is the day i share that deck with you.

[DECK OF 21-12-22]
[ALLGOD NOGOOD]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

Join in The Witcher universe’s favorite card game! In GWENT, you clash with your friends in fast-paced duels that combine bluffing, on-the-fly decision making and careful deck construction.

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This is probably the most control-heavy deck i post this season, which can be very oppressive to the opponents. I dont love using this type of decks, but it makes perfect sense from a deckbuilding point of view, by optimizing the synergies between pings and small instances of damage, with control cards that target a specific unit power, like the reworked offering.

It also brings a bit of nostalgia, when precision strike lists were the ST meta for a long time, and relied on big pointslam finishers.
Most of the cards and strategies here may be a bit powercrept, but - modesty aside -it feels like a complete package that works very well together, and is consistent enough.

--------------------------------------------------

Regarding the upcoming decks, there will be 3 more, one of them is already finished, one is finished and tested but im not completely happy with it and might consider redoing it all, and the last (NR) is still in the building stages.
They will all be released until the 30th December, hopefully

This deck bullies NG enslave a lot, by destroying or countering their Helge, their assimilate units, their Damien, then they have a Torres in hand with no good targets (in this case he had to use it on Vilgefortz, and i didnt even have any big unit to compensate

More bullying NG, because who doesnt like to see the roles reversed?
This was a NG engine soldiers deck, where it spams a lot of bronze engines, where they get great value on a long round... unless you're up against hypercontrol.
I saved all my control in R1 and R2, and spent the first half of R3 removing his engines, so that the remaining engines that survive wont bring enough value to win.

 

[DRK3]

Greetings, ladies and gwentlemen.
I wanted to share one more deck before Christmas. Its my gift to you, hope you like it. Its focused on fun rather than being competitive.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

[DECK OF 23-12-22]
[SHUPE FIESTA]

GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

Join in The Witcher universe’s favorite card game! In GWENT, you clash with your friends in fast-paced duels that combine bluffing, on-the-fly decision making and careful deck construction.

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Shupe has always been one of my favourite cards, and i think any meme aficcionado shares the same opinion.
I know SK is probably the faction that can dish out the most amount of Shupes, with Lippy shenanigans, but NG gets a respectable 2nd place. Now with one more use, through Torres.

TORRES VAR EMREIS - NG'S NEW SHINY TOY
This is the deck i chose to showcase Torres. The other NG new card is so lame i will just ignore it.
Torres is a very interesting card, and unlike most other new evolving cards, i find both of his forms appealing and versatile.

As such, i am disappointed (but not surprised) that the Gwent community already turned him into a one-trick pony, to be paired up with Stefan Skellen (plus other engines). This combo is powerful, but as it became so popular, everyone knows how it works and its quite disruptable - i already shared a couple of decks this season that crush that combo.

I couldnt believe it when i saw Torres 2nd form also works on neutral units! This opens up so many possibilities, and i admit - i did NOT choose the most powerful ones. Pairing Torres with Shupe is quite fun, but not ideal, for a couple of reasons i will explain later.

The obvious choices for Torres max value were Renfri and Triss Meteor Shower.
Renfri would also require purification, like Shupe, but i refrained from doing this deck as it would be very similar to NG Renfri lists that dominated the past 6 months of Gwent, and everyone is tired of.
But Triss MS would be insane with Torres, especially now that Yrden has been killed and Igni nerfed, and would find even more value than an uncountered Skellen Torres combo.


SHUPE OPTIONS
The most valuable shupe options are usually the 'switch unit to other side', which relies on surprise value; or the 'destroy artefact' to destroy a scenario. So in the same match, you likely wont get value from these a 2nd time.
The 'do 3x3 random damage' is also nice, but getting 9pts from Torres is not worth his cost.
The 'put a random weather effect in an enemy row for 3 turns' can be amazing if you get storm against a full row, but its unlikely (1/6 chance).
The 'lock a unit' or 'do 4 damage' can be great control tools, but again, they're not worth reusing through Torres.
The 'resilient' option can be great, especially when you can play so many Shupes. but it works better when your opponent doesnt have a counter.

The problem through purifying shupe to replay it with decoy or torres is that you are stuck with that shupe option, that shupe body.
So you will always get more value through replaying the Shupe special (by putting it back from GY to deck with Assire/ Alissa) than by replaying the Shupe unit, this is done here only for meme value.

This is what's wrong with Gwent - powerful decks allow players to play robotically, without using their brains and still do well.
This match i already had used Shupe many times on early rounds, and put it back in deck, but instead of playing a low value unit, my opponent opens up with Tyr, for an easy seize

Remember meditating mages? Well i think after this match, this opponent will give up on them too...
I was able to counter most of them in R1, and i passed when i assumed my opponent couldnt win R1, even if used all cards.
R2, since i won, i start, and i use Shupe do 3x3 damage to kill the only 3 meditating mages that were able to survive R1 and had a lot of vitality accumulated, before there's a chance to trigger them

(I have more awesome screenshots from this deck on my phone, i may edit this post in the future, to add them)

 

[quintivarium]

DRK3, I would appreciate your feedback . (And anyone else's who cares to give it.)

I have found, as I try to craft my own original decks that are competitive and fun, that I almost have to resort to a high percentage of "meta-content": either currently popular cards, or archetypes, or both -- and often my successful decks are what I would consider almost a variation on some meta deck. I completed the Christmas event almost entirely on the back of one deck -- an ST Harmony deck that differed from meta only in that I replaced Saskia: Commander with Water of Brokilon, included a few more Harmony cards, and relied on locks and very limited poison for control.

Today, I found myself with a surprising amount of time to try a variety of decks, but the only ones I have any interest in playing further are a pair of NR decks, both of which rely heavily on currently popular cards like Reavers and Immortals/Damned Sorceress combinations. With other factions (although I haven't really given SY a fair shot) I can't even deviate from meta concepts without disaster.

I believe the problem lies with the small number of exceptionally good cards that just can't be out-pointed by anything else.

Have you observed similar things?